


Turn the Tide

by gxee



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: A Lot of Secrets to be Revealed in Due Time, AKA: A lot of memories-and a lot of pain, Also Garfield has a dog named Odie, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Everyone is some sort of therapist, F/M, Falling in Love - AGAIN, Past and Present Setting, So expect some mental and physical health issues to be adressed as part of the story, Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-21 01:28:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16149677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxee/pseuds/gxee
Summary: It had been five years. Five years it took her to build herself a rather good life after starting from scratch. Five years in which she had made good friends, landed a job she loved ninety percent of the time, and had for once started having some control over her life.Five years in which she had learned to cope with a past full of bad desicions and the consequences that had scarred her body and mind. Five years in which she had  finally started looking forward to her future.Five years since the greatest mistake she had ever made. Why on earth did Garfield have to show up and bring it all back with him?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, my attempt to bring [this](http://happy-little-ghost.tumblr.com/post/178334742664/endless-list-of-stories-i-wanna-write-turn-the) to life.
> 
> Big shout out and lots of thanks to [AvaChanel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaChanel/pseuds/AvaChanel) for beting this and being a total sweetheart about it. Also to [Mari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariquita_gatanegra/pseuds/mariquita_gatanegra) for listening to all of my rambles about this story while I'm obssesing with it. (If you're reading this far go check out their works since you're at it, they will rock your socks out)
> 
> PS: If you wanna ask me anything, yell at me (over my unfinished works), or just talk, [here is my Tumblr](http://happy-little-ghost.tumblr.com) -Also, I ramble over this story under the tag [Turn the Tide](http://happy-little-ghost.tumblr.com/tagged/turn-the-tide) in case you want a little extra (if you don't mind spoilers) and want to check it out. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one!

_”There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.”_

_-John Lennon_

* * *

 

“If this call isn’t to tell me you’re five minutes away from the venue, I’m gonna hang up, and whatever you have to say you better say it to my face.” Her voice was cool and unbothered as she paced away from the tables and into the cold bite of the evening, onto the small patio of the restaurant. She silently cursed herself for leaving her coat in her chair, hoping the call wouldn’t last too long — and knowing Richard, it wasn’t a bad guess.

He tended to be direct and straightforward. Some would even argue that as charming as he presented himself, he could come off just a tad curt occasionally, even to the people who were close to him.

Rather than bother her, Raven considered it to be a distinctive, logical, and even helpful trait of his, especially in the line of work they both currently were in, and the charge he had been given. It would have been problematic to have someone indecisive or overly doubtful in his position.

“You know, I’m still your boss, and lack of respect to your superior could easily make ground for a dismissal.” It did not mean, however, that he wouldn’t mess around with her every once in a while. “Especially since it’s not the first time it’s happened.”

“Don’t get military on me. And considering that I’ve been doing your job better than you ever could as of late, I don’t think firing me would be very smart of you right now, ” she commented flatly, for the sake of getting back at him. Her tone slipped back to business when she spoke again; “Seriously, you better be on your way. Almost all of the guests are here. People are starting to wonder where Boy Wonder is, and I can only answer so much for you.”

“I hate that nickname.”

“None of us can really escape our past, or the tabloids in your case.” She picked out a loose thread on her dress, her voice laced with amusement.

“It’s not my past, it’s my legacy. Or rather, my dad’s, catching up to me at thirty-three. I seriously thought it would die down by the time I was in my twenties. But apparently, comparison never goes out of style,”

“Poor little you.” She heard the distinctive sound of a lock sliding shut, and the clink of keys being shoved in his pocket from the other end of the line as he sighed.

Before she could ask, he was talking again. “Don’t yell at me, I’m coming over. I just finished going over the last bits of paperwork, it’s all done until monday. Fucking finally.”

It wasn’t all that unusual to hear him curse, but it was definitely not recurrent either. Raven thought it seemed fitting, considering she knew that the past week had brought a considerable weight onto his shoulders, heavy enough for him to reach out to her, out of all people, to lend him a hand.

“Don’t jinx it just yet,” she joked.

“Honestly, I think I can allow myself to relax for a moment, so how about you don’t ruin it for me, Raven?” She laughed quietly at his fringed exasperation, hearing a car door being closed swiftly, and smiling at the fact that her torment would soon come to an end.

It had taken her quite a while to make a use of the psychology and counseling title she had earned about eight years prior. After a fair amount of ups and downs, she had finally found herself out of the living hell that was retail work. All thanks to a recommendation from the very same man on the other end of the line, who had landed her a chance to earn a position on the staff at Titan Rehabilitation Center three and a half years ago.

A staff that had been quickly decreasing as retirement letters began arriving at an alarming rate to Richard’s desk. Given that the previous head shrink hadn’t bothered to look for replacements, the center began falling to pieces, and bills began piling up due to a lack of contributors that financed it over the years.

It had all been a single snowflake that rolled downhill, turning into a gigantic snowball about to run over the place the moment he was placed atop of the chain of command. Had it not been for his skill of coming up with a plan and sticking to it, she was certain they would have gotten crushed sooner than later.

Unfortunately, said plan had not been as linear as once thought, and so came the time where Richard had found himself up and over his head dealing with everything his position demanded.

Like putting off debts partially out of his own pocket. He was pulling strings to get loans from banks that wouldn’t have otherwise, and searching high and low for professionals who actually wanted to work for an entirely non-profitable rehab center (which proved to be much, much harder than she would have thought). Along with this he still continued treating the considerably large amount of patients that came in looking for help within the reduced area of psychiatry -that currently counted with two professionals alone- and to top it off, he still had to run the place; making sure the centre was always stocked with supplies and medicines and that everyone got paid in due time.

And they still needed contributors.

So when the fundraiser event idea came up, its organization had fallen into Raven’s hands in an act of blind trust from Richard -but mostly, she figured, out of his desperation and lack of an extra set of eyes and hands to handle it himself.

Even though it had terrified her, as she turned around for a moment and looked back inside, she felt proud of what she had achieved, what with the little time she had been given. The venue was perfectly placed, not quite within the inner circle of Jump’s downtown, but in a fairly accommodated neighborhood nearby. Kory had personally taken care of the decoration -under her supervision- and had managed to create a polished yet welcoming environment out of a regular three-star-on-yelp restaurant without going too far out of budget. The catering service was not the best money could buy, but the food was delicious nonetheless (at least in Victor’s opinion), and the staff was sufficient.

The hardest thing had been contacting the guests. She had trouble grasping the fact that there were still people who ignored the usefulness of social media and instant means of communication, such as e-mails. More so when said people had built profitable empires that had stayed steadily afloat in the twenty first century. But after a great deal of phone calls, and a ghost ringing in her ear that would keep her company until her deathbed, everyone on the list had been notified.

That night, people had arrived, and people had stayed (which was the main goal in the long run). Half of her could breathe.

But it was the other half that kept her restless. Because, although Raven had already managed to talk as many possible contributors through the basics of what the fundraiser was about and mingled enough to get the attention of a couple more who perhaps had not been as interested as she would have hoped, the night was far from over. The presence of the real man behind the event was required to close all the deals.

Because of course, being the eldest adopted son-not that the media seemed to care much for the adopted part- of the richest businessman in Gotham had to have _some_ leverage. Something about an image he had managed to clean up after years, and a family legacy that might have helped just the tiniest bit on that first note.

But Richard was running late, hence windows of opportunity potentially closing. Hence Raven’s impatience at her friend who, coincidentally, was also her boss.

“Thank you again for doing this,” he said after a moment, his voice denoting a hint of affection.

“Well,” she started, huffing a laugh as she fought off a shiver, “It’s not like my job and the treatments of a hundred and thirty seven people are on the line for this. And now it’s on you.”

There was a bitter laugh from his end. “You’re terrible at pep talks.”

“I didn’t think Richard Grayson Wayne, head psychiatrist and former sergeant of the U.S army, out of all people, needed a pep talk,” she teased, rubbing her arm with her free hand as a rush of wind came over her out of the blue.

She could practically hear him rolling his eyes. For a second, she thought he’d hang up and let her go back inside. Instead, she heard the sound of an engine purring, sounding a little distant, but a clear indication that he was on his way already, and it likely wouldn’t take him longer than twenty minutes to get to the venue. The words “See you in a while” proded against her lips, but never managed to come out as her friend spoke again.

“Before I hang up, I have good news you might want to tell the rest.” There was a smile in his tone.

“Do tell.”

“We officially have our AP Handler.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in a confused manner, finding the timing of the announcement rather odd. Not wanting to give it much thought however, as it was actually good news for once, she chose to respond in the most optimistic tone she could muster; “Really? That’s great. We’ve been trying to fill that spot for months.”

“I know, I’m the one who’s been trying to get it filled,” he sassed her, causing her to be the one to roll her eyes this time. “That’s kind of what held me up here. The guy came to Jump earlier in the week, called me a few hours ago to set an interview, and came over. He must have left about an hour ago, but he’s on the team,”

“Awesome.” Raven smiled, breathing out a little of the nervousness her boss had rubbed off on her lately. “Are we meeting him on Monday?”

“Actually, I told him to go to the fundraiser tonight if he could,” he replied pensively, as if it was an afterthought. “Figured it’d be a good idea for him to meet you guys and see what we’re up to. We might need to get him an extra plate.”

“And who’s gonna take care of that?” she asked, fully aware of the answer.

Surprisingly, Dick said, “Relax, I’ll do it.”

“Alright then, but I’ll hold that to you,” she threatened only half-heartedly. “Hurry up, okay?”

“Will do. See you guys when I get there,” he said, and hung up.

She dropped her phone and took a moment to look inside, analyzing the flow of people and the buzz of lively conversation coming from that direction in contrast of the quietness from outside, barely broken by the occasional echo of a motorcycle speeding down the road. Her shoulders shrugged in reflex at yet another cold breeze, reminding her of her urgency to go back inside; but as a sense of satisfaction and calmness filled her at the sight of the success of all her hard work, a small idea crept into the back of her mind. She could make good use of a couple more minutes away from people who weren’t really interested in keeping a conversation with her anyways.

She unlocked her phone, turning around and pacing away from the noise once again before the promise of shelter turned too tempting, and browsed through her contact list until finding the number she was looking for.

Just a small phone call, a check up, and she could go back to being professional.

Her thumb never managed to tap on the ‘call’ icon, as a sudden force knocked her over from behind, sending her crashing onto the colorful stone tiles that decorated the patio ground, and her phone flying from her hand.

What happened afterwards went much faster than her head could process.

One second later after the fall, she felt thick and itchy fur brushing what little skin her dress left exposed, and heard a distinctively non-human, ragged breath on her back, followed by a quiet whine.

Three seconds later, she had managed to turn around and face the black eyes and perked up ears of what appeared to be a roughly eighty-pound german shepherd as it moved around her, wagging its tail full force and baring its teeth in a playful manner.

Six seconds later, its snout was shoved into her face, sniffing her around and licking her cheeks and nose like there was no tomorrow. It was like the big guy could not be happier to see her. Around this second, it occurred to her that said german shepherd seemed familiar.

On the eighth second,  the dog’s snout had backed up just as a hand wrapped tightly around its collar to pull it away gently, but firmly and quickly. A commanding voice spoke above her, “Odie, stop it, back off.”

She had sat up on the tenth second, since the weight of the animal was no longer pinning her down, and a loud sigh escaped her lungs as her giggling died down.

She had been giggling?

A tall figure in a suit and tie kneeled beside her, holding the animal as it shook trying to escape and charge back at her once again. His fingers fumbled with a tiny metal hook, attempting to put a leash on the collar.

“I’m so sorry, he isn’t usually like this,” he apologized. He was not looking at her, but she didn’t need to meet his eyes to recognize him.

His voice was more than enough.

Her eyes rose to meet a strong profile, a straight cut jaw, and an upturned -almost childlike- nose. His thin lips pressed tightly, and his bushy eyebrows furrowed in a grimace as he struggled containing the force of the animal again. “Hey! Cut it out!”

“I know,” she said in a bemused tone. “Must have missed me.”

His face turned to her, confusion flashing in his features for a second before they noticeably softened when green irises met her stare.

A huff escaped his lips, yet his hold on the dog didn’t falter. A hint of his easy grin pulled on the right corner of his mouth, and a single syllable came out breathlessly, sounding bewilderingly happy.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Her response was just as quiet, and while there was a soft smile on her face, she noticed it had come off in a rather gloomy, anxious tone. Not wishing to overthink on whether he had picked up on it too, she fixed her eyes on the german shepherd and greeted it as well. “Hi, Odie, missed you too.”

Odie barked euphorically, stepping on all fours, and shaking his tail even harder than before. Garfield’s hold had reduced to a single hand on the leash, but it proved itself to be more than enough since Odie hadn’t tried to jump at her a third time.

Raven looked over her shoulder -partially to avoid the double sets of eyes on her- in search of her cellphone, quickly finding it laying face down a feet away from her and reaching for it, fully expecting an entirely shattered screen.

What should have been a relieved sigh at the sight of only a little scratch came out as a hiss instead when she felt a sharp sting in her palm as she picked up the device and turned it.

“You okay?” The question was prompted as he offered his left hand to help her stand. She took it hesitantly with her free hand, somewhat glad his grasp had only reached her fingers. Once they were both standing, he brought her injured palm  into the light coming from the restaurant, his face reflecting a pained expression when he saw how it had been skinned when she had tried to stop the fall. “Sorry again about that.”

He let go without another word as she dismissed the apology. “It’s alright, nothing a bit of rubbing alcohol and a little bandage won’t fix in a day or two,.

He smiled, seeming only half-convinced, but not pushing it. He seemed to notice then the small shake of her shoulders, and his head nodded towards the inside of the restaurant, the silent invite coming across clear.

Raven followed the man when he walked in, and stepped beside him on his left, opposite of where Odie stood. She secretly reveled in the escape from the cold weather, even if it was at the expense of peace and quiet, as the world around her became much, much louder.

“So,” she heard him say by her ear, figuring he had leaned down closer to her, trying to make up for the height gap he had on her, “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she answered cooly, giving him a side glance and arching her brow.

“I asked first,” he argued cheekily, his grin growing bigger.

She rolled her eyes at him, but gave in nonetheless. “I organized this, figured I should be here to make sure nothing too disastrous happens,” she explained. “But now that you’re here, maybe all hope is lost on that,” she quipped as they made their way past an excited group of middle aged men, laughing at some joke she hadn’t caught on to, in no particular direction.

“You hurt me,” he accused jokingly, placing a hand over his chest. “I would never-”

“Your dog literally jumped on me less than five minutes ago,” she cut him off as she eyed him before turning back to stare face front.

“Odie is a good boy,” he insisted. “And anyway, I’m in my thirties. It’s not like I’m going around playing clown wherever I- Ugh, I’m in my thirties.”

A small laugh came from her without her permission at the flatness and annoyance in his voice in that last sentence, and she passed it off as a cough. She could visualize the shift in his expression without looking at him. It didn’t exactly help.

“Point made. You still haven’t answered my question.”

He blew out his breath shortly, drawing her attention -and Odie’s- with that childish sound. “Business. Double business. ‘Cause I’m a responsible adult.”

“Care to elaborate on that?”

“Steve got the invite. He wasn’t gonna come but told me about it. And I had a job offer here anyway, so I figured I could feed two birds with one seed,” he explained without giving it much thought, as if it bored him. She wasn’t surprised by that, nor by the fact he still referred to his foster father by his name. “He hasn’t disowned me for some reason, so… Might as well put that money into something I do respect. Just in case, if anyone here asks, my name is Logan Dayton.”

The Daytons. Of course the Daytons had been invited. How did she miss that?

“Being a veterinarian wasn’t working out back in LA? What, is there a shortage of weird pets I haven’t heard of?” she asked teasingly, yet she was genuinely curious.

“I don’t think that could ever happen in LA,” he stated, as it was clearly obvious. She slowed down in her steps as she found her table and reached towards where she had left her coat, remembering she had meant to grab it earlier. She turned to face him head-on once again as she folded it over her arm.

“No, I just- I guess I needed a change of scenery.”

She nodded, feeling a knot tighten in her throat under the visible scrutiny of those green eyes. She was aware he hadn’t stopped looking at her on their walk, but somehow standing there and reciprocating seemed to be much more nerve-wracking and uncomfortable than simply being observed.

She focused on Odie instead, who was looking as stoic and alert as he usually did when he was on duty, even if his tail hadn’t stopped wagging once.

It hadn’t escaped her the fact that her heart rate had spiked in fear and had stayed that way since they had greeted each other. But it was only then, as the brief conversation had hit a pause, that it began to dawn on her just how quickly they had eased into it, and how his humor had made her keep a grin all the while without as much as a second thought.

It wasn’t supposed to be that easy. But it had been. It unnerved her.

Garfield opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it had been never made it out as he seemed to think better of it, and shut it.

Raven figured she’d have to be the one to talk then, even if keeping  up the conversation hadn’t been what she intended to after that last thought sank to her stomach and made it turn. She fixed her eyes back on his, taken a little aback by that vibrant color like she always had since they had first met.

“How many lasagna jokes have you put up with since you got here?”

“Too many.”

“So I’m guessing you’ve been in Jump for a day,” she mused, looking around right then as she noticed some commotion, people gathering near the entrance with a pretty good idea as for why.

“Oh, I’ve been here for five hours, maybe less,” he laughed. When no response came, he fumbled with the leash as he turned in the direction she was staring in, clearly confused. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head calmly. “No, but I should head over there. I think my boss is here.”

“Alright then,” he said. “Wouldn’t like to keep you from doing your job.”

She glanced back at him, and once again met that hint of a smile in an otherwise blank expression. She thought of reaching out and grabbing his arm for a moment as she said goodbye, but her hand dropped almost immediately after she had raised it. “It was good seeing you again,” she forced out, hoping it sounded honest enough.

“Same here, Rae.” He took a step away from her, pulling Odie with him subconsciously as his grip on the leash tightened. “Good luck with that,” he added with a nod.

She gave him a tight, quick smile, and made her way towards the entrance in a much rapid pace than the one she had kept with him.

She hadn’t run away from him; she had rushed to go talk to her boss. It didn’t really matter how much of it was an excuse, considering that either way, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Tapping a shoulder, she gently pushed aside one of the photographers taking several pictures of the man of the moment to get in the front line of his sight as he shook hands with the attendants that had gathered around. Flashing a well practiced, confident smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, he exchanged a few words with each before moving to the next one.

His whole appearance was pristine, like the event demanded, particularly from him. Raven let her stare linger for a moment on his striped, three piece suit, quietly wondering when he’d managed to bring it into his office during the past couple of days. She figured he had likely changed back at the centre as there was no way he had managed to show up so quickly if he had made a stop to his place first. Most importantly, she wondered how she hadn’t noticed the suit in his office, given she’d been buzzing around him quite a lot lately to check the details of the fundraiser.

As she waited to catch his eye, she took a deep breath to calm herself down and steady her heart rate, trying to slip into work mode again and completely let go of the remains of anxiousness the small interaction with the other man had brought up. She gave him a small wave when he finally noticed her, discreetly beckoning him, urging him to get closer so they could speak properly.

His shoulders relaxed slightly as he excused himself politely and approached her. He became more at ease in her company, offering his arm in a friendly manner. She promptly took it, recognizing his strategy to both talk privately and to divert the attention away from him for a moment.

“I thought you’d ask Kory to come as your date,” she commented, earning a little huff from him.

“I didn’t get the chance to, and besides it didn’t seem important-” he began explaining, pointlessly before she cut him off.

“Bullshit.” Her eyes were fixed on the people now moving to their seats, as the music coming from speakers in the walls seemed to lower significantly, indicating a change in the pace of the evening. Some guests were still arriving, but it seemed to be the last ones, and seeing that most of the attendants list had been checked off, she guessed that the waiters would soon start flowing in, carrying trays of entreés instead of mere aperitizers.

Richard’s response to her accusation was a change of topic. “Is everything set? No trouble until I got here?”

“Everything is going according to plan,” she assured him. “You’ll have your little speech before dessert, charm your way into everyone’s pockets, and we’ll be done for the night,” she recounted as they walked closer towards their shared table. Some of the members of the Titan crew had attended, to have a chance to talk and give some insightful conversation to the potential contributors. But most, however, had stayed at the centre or gone home depending on their schedules. Victor and Kory had already sat down in their spots and were talking animatedly. “Unless you want me to give a call to that mariachi band you mentioned to provide some entertainment. I’d bet they would take the offer even if it was late,” she teased him, watching as his eyebrows furrowed and his shoulders squared up a moment later.

“Raven, that was a joke,” he deadpanned.

She snorted. “I find it amazing how quickly you can go from being relaxed at finishing all your work, to getting flustered over a monologue I heard you practice seventy-eight times in the past three days.” She tightened the hold on his arm before letting go, hoping it had come off as comforting and not like she had stepped away from him in annoyance. “Relax, everything will go smoothly, I promise,” she added for good measure, looking at him and offering a sympathetic smile. Just because she had been nervous about the outcome of the event didn’t mean that she had to make it any worse for him.

He merely nodded in response, and looked around to see the attendants taking their seats at last. He made his way towards his own, Raven following him in his tracks.

Once seated, he addressed her once again in a hushed voice. “You looked nervous back there, are you sure nothing happened?”

Raven gulped, feeling annoyed that he had caught  on to her mood, even if she couldn’t blame him. Just like her, he had a trained eye for those sorts of things. She mostly hoped that she hadn’t looked as mortified as the concern in his voice made it seem.

She glanced over her shoulder then, immediately finding the figure of the tall, dark-blonde haired man she had spoken to, as well as his dog, merely a couple of tables away. He was caught up in some seemingly interesting conversation with an elderly woman who accompanied every word that left her mouth with an expressive hand gesture, listening attentively with a grin that was about to break into a laugh at any second.

A shiver went down her spine. “We… _I_ might have a problem.” Her tongue felt dry as she corrected herself. Tearing her eyes away from the scene, she focused on the piercing azure gaze beside her instead. “We have to talk. Later.”

His hand rose to perch on her shoulder, brushing a thumb over her skin absently, almost as if he hadn’t meant to. “Raven.” His voice was serious with worry; a tone she had heard from him only on particular occasions, usually regarding her.

She tried to brush it off, gripping his wrist and prying his hand away. “It won’t affect the fund-”

“I know,” he interjected, letting her push him away, but not being dissuaded.. “Are you okay?”

Raven hurriedly nodded, and mumbled a simple “Later”. She saw him turn to his plate and unfold the napkin in front of him, dropping his eyes from her, and the whole ordeal for that matter.

If he noticed her flinch when a loud burst of laughter exploded a few tables away from them, making her stomach turn and her fingers  tighten around her own piece of cloth on her lap, he didn’t say anything.


	2. Chapter 2

_“Important encounters are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other._

_(...)These meetings are waiting for us, but more often than not, we avoid them happening. If we are desperate, though, if we have nothing to lose, or if we are full of enthusiasm for life, then the unknown reveals itself, and our universe changes direction.”_

_-Paulo Cohelo_

* * *

 

Bidding farewells took longer than she had estimated. Waving off an elderly couple that seemed to have taken a liking to her throughout the night, Raven answered all of their questions and politely listened to meaningless anecdotes when they had ran into her multiple times. She allowed herself to take a deep breath after they exited the main doors, and scanned the now empty venue. Waiters walked around, picking up the plates and silverware, stacking them up in their trays while sharing some quiet chit-chat.

One of the attendants had gone through a minor panic attack after taking a bite out a dessert. It appeared, but turned out not to contain any strawberries -which could give her a mild allergic reaction. But after that hd been taken care of, the night had unfolded with no altercations whatsoever. Save from the incident around dessert, the three-course dinner came and went by to the sound of vivid conversation among the guests. Business partners and known friends had met and chat in good spirits thanks to Raven’s carefully planned accommodation — something that had certainly improved the reactions of the guests by the time Richard had arrived.  He then had decided to go around and charmingly remind them of the reason they had been invited in the first place.

The small gesture of appreciation her boss had dedicated to her when their eyes met, as well as the genuinely happy smile he had flashed her before he caught everyone else’s attention for his speech, had not gone unnoticed by her.

Neither was it lost to him the confident rise of her eyebrows and the discrete motion of her hand as Raven mimicked the shake of a maraca in response. “No Mariachi band needed after all.”

Richard’s speech had been everything it needed to be. Emotional when it engaged the guests via the stories he told about some of the most notorious patients they had attended, but straight forward enough to be clear and concise regarding the importance of the contributions and the purpose they would fulfill. He also provided hopefulness, in an attempt to peak the interest of those who might not have originally been keen on the idea at first.  At the same time, Richard appeared confident enough in their work that it did not come off as desperate call for help -even if deep down, Raven knew it was.

But most of all, it had been an honest statement from him, about what he truly believed in and fought for, and how he and all of the Titan crew simply wanted to continue doing what they did best for as long as they could: helping others.

The restaurant had burst into an ocean of claps after the last few words had rolled of his tongue. Raven was far from surprised at the reaction She had been certain from the moment she had eavesdropped outside his office that he’d earn the sympathy of the guests in a way no one else could. Richard, however, had looked overwhelmed at the response -at least in her eyes — with his grateful smile pulling tightly at the corners of his mouth for a moment, and his stare falling down humbly before returning to the crew’s table.

“Man, I think I saw some folks cry,” Victor had commented, patting his back proudly as he sat beside him. From the other side of the table, Kory didn’t take long to cheerily compliment him as well, her green eyes shining with an admiration she didn’t bother hiding.

Dick had simply snorted, dismissing it even as he flushed slightly, and turned to Raven, apparently looking for her approval.

She had entertained the idea of making an ironic quip the second applause had flooded the restaurant, if only to remind him of the restlessness that had invaded him the moment he had stepped in. In the end, she decided against it.

“It was good.” Her answer seemed to satisfy him, although it had earned her a questioning look from Victor. Three years later, and the tallest and oldest member of the crew -at least at the table- still gave her hell at her quiet, overly collected nature. Even though he had made it clear it didn’t really bother him. She had merely shrugged in response at his confusion, and with a roll of his eyes, the topic had been dropped.

About an hour later, the guests had started to leave. Kory, Victor, Garth and Aline had taken up the chore of talking to the staff, helping around with the clean up, and paying off the services that were still due under Richard’s instruction. Raven and him, in turn, dismissed the attendants and took note of those who had decided to become contributors in order to contact them in the next few days.

The rush of the night would have been enough to keep anyone’s mind busy, and for the most part, it had helped distract Raven. Still, the brief interaction she had dealt with before Dick had arrived had lingered at the back of her mind throughout the evening, the knowledge that _he_ was there ever present and hard to ignore. She congratulated herself over the fact that she hadn’t actively looked for him again later on, but her nervousness had not entirely died down.

Absently, her thumbs rubbed the sore skin on her palms as she rolled back her shoulders, posture relaxing. Her eyes roamed the restaurant, and a sense of ease filled her chest.

There was no sign of Garfield or his dog.

The soft thud of footsteps over carpeted floors approaching, followed by a relieved sigh, made her turn to take  notice of Richard’s presence at her side.He looked exhausted, pulling on his tie to undo it carelessly. It hung around his neck like an open scarf. Heavy eyelids slipping shut for a second, even as a grin split his face, his fingers lazily undid the buttons of the vest to free himself from some restraint. Richard was the embodiment of the word ‘tired’.

“It’s finally over,” Raven said, reaching for her small pendants and taking them off. Much like him, she was disregarding part of the formal charade they had put on for the guests.

He nodded, still not opening his eyes before he spoke again. “How many?” She didn’t wait for further explanation, she knew what the question was about.

“Forty-three, you?”

His eyes opened. “Thirty-nine.” He offered his arm to her just like earlier, this time with an exaggerated manner of chivalry. Along with his smile, she could feel happiness buzzing out of him. He couldn’t even be bothered to be competitive about the amount of contributors’ numbers they’d each received.

She took his arm and clung to him slightly, knowing that he wouldn’t mind. “That makes eighty-two.” He took a step forward, pulling them into an easy stroll while circling the tables towards the kitchen to meet the rest of the Titan crew, as they had all agreed. “That’s about eighty more people than what we were initially hoping for,” Raven noted.

“It all depends on the _amount_ of the donations,” he started, though he sounded hopeful and tranquil for once. It was a nice change to his usual stern and overworked demeanor. “But I’m pretty sure it’ll be enough to get us some new equipment. And fix the east wing’s roof.”

“At last.”

A small laugh escaped from him and he turned to regard her thoughtfully. “Thank you, again.”

“Don’t mention it.” She waved it off, squeezing his arm affectionately. “You could always give me an early raise, if you really wanna repay me for this,” she joked, arching a brow.

He stayed quiet for a moment. “Two-point-five.”

Raven’s eyes fixed on his. His stare was serious, but his good mood hadn’t faded just yet. And she was going to take as much advantage of it as she could. “Ten percent,” she countered.

“Five.”

“I thought you were my best friend.” She shoved him playfully, their shoulders bumping as they came closer to the double doors. “Twenty.”

“Back to two-point-five.” He stopped walking when she gave him a shocked look, and cut her off before she could protest. “I’m still your boss.”

She glared at him. “Fifteen.”

“You’re joking right?” Her hand had left him, and so he crossed his arms over his chest, an amused expression on his face. “Five. And that’s it.”

She sighed. Richard could really live up to his nickname sometimes. “Fine. Five,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes. The thought occurred to her that perhaps she could have been more grateful considering he was, after all, offering her a raise.

“Fine. Fifteen.” He shrugged, the smile still clear in his tone. “Just don’t tell Vic yet.”

She shook her head and scoffed, offering a hand when she looked up to him again and returned his smile. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Boy Wonder.”

“Don’t push it,” he warned, but shook her hand firmly nonetheless. His grip softened, yet he didn’t let go of her when she tried to pull away, clearing his voice and talking again. “Hey, listen. About what happened before I showed up-”

“It’s been taken care of, for now,” she interrupted with him with a reassuring smile before he could go on. All she got as a response was an arched brow and a stern look from him. “Trust me.”

“You know I do.” He did not push her to continue, she knew it was simply a statement.

There was a small pause before any of them said anything again. They simply stared at one another in mutual understanding. Richard knew better than to prod her with questions she wouldn’t answer anytime soon; and for that, she was grateful.

She had been truly lucky it had been him, out of all people, that she had ran into when she first got to Jump City years ago, and had taken a liking to her.

Raven took a deep breath. “I bumped into someone -sort of,” she began unpromptedly. “Someone I knew back in LA.” She didn’t see the need of going into full detail about who it had been precisely. It wasn’t that it wasn’t important, she had just wanted to hold onto some hope that, perhaps, it wouldn’t really become a problem in the long run. After all, over thirty thousand people lived in Jump. Even if he did get that job he had mentioned, the chances of meeting him again were slim.

Richard’s eyebrows furrowed. “Here? At the fundraiser?”

“Don’t tell me it comes as a surprise that I had other rich… acquaintances before we met.” She shrugged. “I’ve been told I’ve always been quite charming.”

He snorted. “If you say so…,” he trailed off, reciprocating her humorous approach. “So, everything is okay?”

Raven nodded. “I’ll let you know if something comes up again.”

His arms fell to his sides as he eased off.. Richard then resumed his pacing, and Raven joined him.

“I’m guessing the AP handler never made it,” she spoke again, recalling the brief conversation on the phone they had had earlier on. As they approached the doors, she heard the distant sound of conversation, the voices of their partners inside muffled behind the walls.

“Actually, he did.” He granted her a satisfied smirk.

“But,” she looked at him, puzzled. “Nobody called us from the entrance, unless he had snuck inside somehow.” Granted, the security had been minimal, yet there wasn’t many other entrances to the venue other than the front and back. The latter had been closed after all of the staff had arrived; she had double checked.

“No need to. Turns out he was on the guest list,” he explained cooly.

“Wait, ‘turns out’?” Her voice raised an octave, the offence clear in her tone. “You didn’t check it before we sent the invites?”

“Look, I was sure you’d done a great job. And I was dealing with Tim’s college issue that day,” he justified himself, turning defensive on her. “You know how it is with my family.”

“I thought Barbara was taking care of it.”

“She did, after I asked her to.”

She hummed, not entirely satisfied with his answer. “So back up, you’re telling me I sent an email to a potential colleague, inviting him to the fundraiser as if he was a potential donor, before you even thought of hiring him? You know how that could have backfired, don’t you?”

“I’m aware.” They stopped by the door and he pushed it gently, a set of laughter she recognized as both Aline and Kory’s, greeting them as they stepped inside. “Luckily for us, no. He was a potential donor all along.”

“What-?” She turned around to meet the rest of the crew lounging on plastic chairs a couple of steps ahead, just as a new voice resumed whatever story he had been telling before the girls had interrupted him.

“So, this kid’s father is looking at him, and then he’s looking at me, and his eyes are about to fall out of their sockets any minute, while I’m trying to convince the cop in what little spanish I can remember that the weed is mine, and it’s entirely for medicinal purposes. The kid looks like he’s about to cry, and the cop isn’t buying it, but at least he’s not _looking_ at the kid. Meanwhile, I’m freaking out big time ‘cause that’s just not how I was expecting my Thursday to go. And _then_ , Odie starts barking like crazy, and the cop tells me to shut him up but I can’t. That’s what he’s trained to do. I try to tell him that, but he won’t listen. So I try to get to the chair I had been sitting at, and he grabs me by the shirt and asks me what the hell I think I’m doing, and I tell him to let me sit down ‘cause it’s gonna get real ugly, real soon.”

Shit.

She had heard that story before. In another time and place, and it had not sounded nearly as funny as he was making it seem now.

Garfield had been extremely nervous then, and had underestimated how demanding and rude the cop could be. He was certain he’d been caught in the lie the minute he’d said it.

The crew listened attentively as he continued his story, his hands oftentimes animated as he spoke. “And then I go down, deadweight on the floor. Must have scared the living hell out of the cop, but hey, at least he was convinced I hadn’t been lying. By the time I regained consciousness, he was gone. I had a bump on my head, and a contract ready to sign. So yeah, no. Richard might be a tough cookie, but it definitely wasn’t been the most stressful job interview I’ve had by far.” He laughed softly, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t go unnoticed by her. The rest of his audience didn’t seem to have caught on, however.

“I see you already met the better part of the team.” Richard’s voice caused all heads to turn in their direction as he walked past Raven towards the centre of the room..

The atmosphere inside the kitchen was way calmer than the event had been, if the appearance of the crew was anything to go by. Sitting in a semi-circle, they all appeared relaxed and at ease in their body language. Victor’s coat had vanished entirely, and Kory’s curly hair rested in a messy bun atop of her head. Aline held her shoes by the heels on her lap, while Garth had unbuttoned his shirt almost halfway down and had completely forgone his tie, like Richard. The night had clearly worn out everyone, it seemed.

“We had just finished off the introductions.” Garfield looked almost out of place as he beamed up at Richard when he stood in front of him. Other than his tie loosened up around his neck, and his hair looking rather tousled from running his hands through it, he appeared just about the same as when they had bumped into one another. While the rest had been positively drained, a spark of extra energy seemed to radiate from him as he laid on the chair, Odie curled up under his stretched out legs peacefully.

Raven didn’t allow the surprise to paralyze her in front of her friends, and followed her boss with a straight face less than a second later. She pushed down the dreadful feeling crawling up her chest, and forced a polite smile in Garfield’s direction when those green eyes focused on her once again. His grin barely faltered before he quickly recomposed.

Richard’s hand perched on her shoulder as he moved aside, as if to give the blonde man a better look at her when he introduced her. “This is our head psychologist, and admittedly, the mastermind behind tonight’s event-”

“Raven Roth,” Garfield cut the other man off as he stood up, stretching out a hand towards her in greeting. Despite the sudden shock of hearing her full name leave his lips, her reaction was automatic — she quickly reached out and took it, shaking it without muttering a single word. “We met before,” he stated in addition, slightly tightening his grip on her.

Who the clarification had been directed to, it was hard to tell. His eyes had remained fixated on her, but the phrase hung in the air a moment longer for everyone to discern that no further clarification would come.

Garfield’s left brow arched, and Raven instantly understood, snapping out of her silence. It was an invitation for her to fill in the blanks as she pleased, in case he had messed up.

Because sometimes, Garfield was nice like that.

She scoffed shyly, waving off the enigmatic vibe behind his words as if it were simply a  joke. Turning to Dick, she said, “We talked earlier at the event. I didn’t know he was one of us already.” Richard merely raised his eyebrows and eclited a soft ‘oh’.

“Garfield Mark Logan,” the young, fair-haired man introduced himself to Raven, his smile growing before he let go of her hand. “But you already knew that.”

“I believe you’re forgetting Dayton somewhere in there,” she pointed out innocently.

He hissed in amusement, as if her statement was a low blow he didn’t want to acknowledge. In a way, it had been, and she knew it. However, the others didn’t need to know about that. “I don’t really go by Dayton.”

* * *

 

The sound of the heavy steps on wet concrete half a block behind her drowned behind the soft ‘ding’ on the bell that announced her arrival, as well as all the quiet chattering and soft music playing inside the diner. With her breath still caught in her throat when she walked in, Raven turned towards the east side of the place trying to look as inconspicuous as ever. She scanned the few tables quickly, painfully aware that the chase was not over yet. If she had a chance to escape, it was then and there.

Her eyes darted about the diner, taking in all of its customers. From the frail old man in a brown coat having a cup of tea and reading a newspaper, to a family of three sharing a slice of cake two tables down, and then to a couple laughing in a booth in the back of the building.

Her mind worked fast, thinking of an immediate strategy to approach any of the customers in a way that seemed casual enough. But the few she came up with seemed too flawed to pull off.

The old man would be startled and most definitely would ask her why she’d just plopped down in front of him. He was in deep with his reading, and his hunched shoulders indicated a closed off, do-not-bother attitude.

The parents seemed too caught up in whatever story their little daughter was telling, and there was no way Raven could step in without causing a displeased reaction from them that would sell her out. They already seemed tense watching their daughter step on her chair - the mother reaching out to grab her by the arm to prevent her from falling, as the kid’s mannerisms became a little too expressive and caused her to lose balance.

The young couple was too invested in an excited conversation, the girl talking in an exasperatingly shrill voice. She was obviously trying her hardest to keep her companion’s attention even though he had not looked away from her once. This made Raven fear the possible negative reaction if she pretended she knew either of them.

It was all too risky. Not to mention, she wasn’t entirely sure her persecutors would mind making a scene in public.

Raven realized she had been standing in her place for too long. She had spent precious minutes looking around and analyzing the minute details that had made her second guess and back down from each plan. Knowing she had to move again — even if barely a moment had passed — Raven could not risk being paralyzed.

She turned around, frowning slightly and only half-pretending she had been looking for someone. Raven then paced in the opposite direction, silently praying she still had some time.

The diner door opened once again, and the little ring of the bell felt more like the whisper of a gun being cocked behind her head.

She didn’t look over her shoulder, instead she headed seemingly towards the counter, thinking perhaps the waitress standing behind it might be able to aid her.

The sight of a snout in the corner of her eye drew her attention as she advanced. Just three tables down, in a corner booth against a large window, and under a flickering light, a german shepherd laid over the seat, nose peeking out towards the aisle.

In the seat across from the dog, she saw her golden opportunity.

The steps from before were closer then. Slinging her worn-out backpack on of her left shoulder, she strolled with confident steps in the direction of the young stranger sitting alone. He didn’t seem to notice her as he was reading some papers scattered in front of him, index finger picking on the corner of a sheet that had worn out to the point of ripping.

Her hand fell on the table right in front of his own, forcing him to look away from his reading and focus on the surface where her palm had landed. He then glanced upwards to meet the face of whoever had interrupted him.

“Hey there, sorry I’m late,” she offered with a soft smile. Leaning in, she nonchalantly inched towards the stranger to close the space between them with a kiss.

The steps behind her came to a halt as her other hand reached his cheek and stroked it softly. She couldn’t ignore the stillness of the lips underneath hers, nor the reality she was still far from danger, and that it could all blow up for her right then if her plan went wrong.

She wasted no time as she pulled away slowly and murmured “Help me” low enough for the stranger in front of her to hear. Raven couldn’t help but notice there was an edge of desperation in her voice she wished she could have bitten back.

A pair of ridiculously bright green irises met hers, silent curiosity written all over them, before easing into something more akin to pleasant surprise. He’d taken a quick, almost imperceptible glance behind her and, upon gleaning her desperate predicament, decided to go along with the charade. An easy, lopsided grin made an appearance on his lips.

“No biggie, though Odie was getting a little antsy that you hadn’t shown up yet,” he replied teasingly, nodding towards the dog still laying on the other seat. Odie wagged his tail in response.

“Are you hungry? My order isn’t ready yet so I can still ask the waitress to bring you something,” he asked, still playing along.

Her lips curled in a tight smile, but he didn’t seem to mind. She knew it'd be enough to mask her voice for those who weren’t looking at her. “Nah, I’ll just pick at whatever you’re eating.”

He let out an annoyed sigh. “Figures. Hope you’re in the mood for tofu eggs, miss.” Not once looking away from the stranger as he talked, Raven sat beside him when he scooted over, hearing the quiet retreat from her pursuants.

If she hadn’t still beenl feeling a little shaken, Raven could have kissed him again in sheer gratitude for playing his part so effectively.

His focus returned to the papers in front of him once again. Taking a closer look, she realized they were a bunch of medical studies filled with graphs, pictures, numbers, and words she couldn’t quite assign a plausible meaning. The stranger was a doctor. It stuck her as odd, as he looked far too young - most likely in his early twenties.

Keeping an attentive ear, and noting the bell had yet to ring a third time; she spoke up once again for good measure.She figured the longer she kept up the conversation with the young man the more likely it’d be to throw off her prosecutors into thinking they’d made a mistake.

“Long day at the clinic?” Flexing her elbow over the table, she let her head fall lazily into her palm, her upper body entirely turned towards the man in a seemingly relaxed and comfortable position.

“If you can call that hole-in-a-wall  a clinic,” he snorted. “I’m just worried about these scans. How the hell does a whole pack of puppies get this sick in less than a month? I had them all vaxxed the last time  this lady had brought them in, and apparently, there’s a break out now,” he went on, grabbing a stack of untouched sheets and flipping through them for her to see. Not a doctor, she mused. A vet. That made more sense. “Now I gotta go through all of these to figure out which ones we have to put on quarantine, and it’s gonna take me forever and then some. I’m not even sure we have the medication to treat this, and Tito is gonna be pissed at how much it’s gonna cost, but you can stop pretending you care now.”

Looking up to face him again — a little perplexed at his sudden change of topic — she realized his eyes were fixed on the diner door as it closed, and the echo of a chime reached her ears.

“You’re safe.” He granted her an easy smile and a wink.

She let out a deep breath before quietly replying “Thank you,” and strapping up her backpack once again.

He shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, there’s a lot of creeps in LA. Glad I could help out.”

Raven slipped out of the seat in a rush, sparing him a grateful glance before looking past the window and checking the ‘creeps’ -as he had donned them- walking away from the establishment. Her eyes followed them as they crossed the road and disappeared around a corner. She made a mental note to head in the opposite direction.

The lamp above the table flickered again, and she caught a glimpse of her reflection on the glass as the light changed.

She had seen better days. Her once partly shaved hair had grown out long enough for her to start tucking it behind her right ear, even though it never quite stayed put, and it looked greasy under the fluorescent light. Her shirt and coat were wrinkled and ripped at odd places from overwear They probably smelled funny by now, too. Her lips were starting to get chapped, and a dark hue circled her eyes.

Raven figured she could have looked worse. Her appearance didn’t differ much from what she remembered looking like during her first finals week back in college. Save for the overly torn pieces of clothing, and the way her cheeks had lost their plump throughout the years.

Not wanting to dwell on it any further, nor think about how long had it been since the last time she had slipped into a decent change of clothes, she decidedly pushed herself away from the table without a word, and headed towards the exit. Raven chose not to care about the way his eyes hadn’t returned to his papers -as if he’d been expecting her to say something more.

“Hey, wait!” The voice from the stranger called her out a moment later. Assuming she had probably dropped something -her backpack was not in the best conditions- she slowed down and turned around.

Raven glanced back at him in confusion before he addressed her again, now that he had caught her attention. “I, uh-...” His face contorted in a conflicted expression as he paused, as if he was trying to find the right words to say. A breathy chuckle escaped his lips when he continued, “I know I already got a kiss. But, I could still buy you dinner. It’s the least I could do.”

“I don’t know you.”

Despite her harsh, blunt response, the stranger merely laughed lightly and watched her curiously. “Yeah, well. No time like the present, right?” He slipped out of the seat in a beat and walked up to stand in front of her in three quick strides. “I’m B. And you look a little hungry.” He offered a friendly hand out to her in greeting, along with a smile like the one he had given her after she had kissed him.

Raven stared up at him, then his hand, and then back at him with wide eyes. B’s forward attitude was disconcerting to say the least, but the look in his eyes seemed kind. His shoulders held no tension, and his body language was open and inviting. B’s offer was an honest and rather harmless one, from what she could read of him. But she didn’t entertain the idea of taking it, as tempting as it sounded.

A clock on the wall read 6:40 pm.

“I’m actually running late,” she articulated, giving him a pleading look. “But thanks.” She shook his hand, tightening the grip just a tad before letting go apologetically.

He didn’t seem entirely let down by her answer. “It’s alright.” He shrugged. “Next time maybe?”

She stepped backwards, resuming her leave as she uttered a breathless “Sure.” She wasn’t quite certain why she had said it.

His smile didn’t falter, and he calmly returned to his seat, but not before ruffling the fur of his dog’s head.

“Wait, I didn’t get your name!” he yelled a moment later. But Raven pretended not to have heard him as the door closed behind her.

* * *

 

The engine shut down along with the stereo just as Richard parked the car in front of her building. It had become customary, almost like a ritual for them, to stay inside the car and talk for a few minutes before he dropped her off back at her place.

The ride had been peaceful, with the music from the radio lulling them both into a tranquil state of mind where there had been no need to say anything. Besides, they were both still tired as hell.

Raven had kept her eyes on the road, feeling the knots in her stomach ease a little more with each mile they put between themselves and the venue, even if she was aware it was just a temporary aid for her restlessness. When they’d finally reached her place, Raven had wrapped her coat tightly around herself in her seat. It was a futile attempt to keep warm before she finally had to step outside into the cold again.

She met baby blue eyes pinned on her dark ones.

“You’re uncharacteristically quiet.” His voice had that peculiar, worried tone again.

She knew there wasn’t a chance that she could get out of the conversation. So she simply nodded. The question behind his statement didn’t need to be uttered.

She took a deep breath and let her eyes fall. “It was him.”

“Logan?” he inquired. “He’s your acquaintance from LA?”

“Yes.”

She looked back up at him when she heard him snort softly. “Figured that much. With the whole ‘We met before’, and you practically freezing when you shook his hand.”

“I didn’t-”

“Yes, you did,” he insisted. “Don’t worry, I doubt anyone else noticed.”

She swallowed, feeling annoyed yet somehow comforted by his perceptiveness. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he assured her, reaching out and resting a hand over her shoulder. “I take he’s one of the few good ones.” His eyes were gentle, even if no smile pulled on his lips.

Raven held onto his hand and squeezed it in return, thankful for the compassionate gesture that once upon a time, she would have found offensive.

Dick knew her better than the rest of her friends. Throughout the years of working with them, most of her peers had barely figured out that she had been through some rough times before moving to the city. Even between coffee breaks, late night shift talks and some beers after hours. Richard was the only one who knew the whole story of what had transpired during her short-lived time in the City of Angels.

Well, at least most of it. After all, she had kept some details out. It had been partly in fear that he would take action upon knowing, while she had simply wanted to stay as far away as possible from some of those memories.

It was almost ironic, recalling the phone call they had had earlier that evening, the choice of words she’d used to tease him.

“That’s not it, Dick,” she said, her tone flat.

His brow furrowed questioningly, and a silent, uncomfortable pause hung between them as he tried to decipher what she had meant with that. “What are you not telling me?”

Her heart beat grew louder within her ribcage in those brief seconds before he continued. She bit her lip while her friend waited for a response, thinking about how to phrase it in a simple sentence.

But trying to explain how she had felt upon meeting him again was nowhere near a simple task. There were too many conflicting emotions pulling on her heartstrings in that moment. Even if part of her was certain that Richard — out of all people — would understand, she wasn’t sure she fully understood what it had meant then. Not while shock and fear and utter helplessness washed over her.

Raven couldn’t come up with the right words, so she opted for the next closest thing; answering his question.

“Garfield is not _some_ guy I knew back there. He wasn’t one of the guys who worked at the shelter I stayed at, or a… client.”

“Well, I didn’t think you’d actually tell your last name to-”

“Dick.” She cut him short before he could say something else. “He’s B.”

She couldn’t really say she was surprised by Richard’s eyes widening, nor his mouth falling agape, or his completely flabbergasted tone as he asked “ _That’s_ B!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while but here it is at last! The following chapter may take a bit longer as I’m aproaching finals next month so keep that in mind.
> 
> Shout out to AvaChanel for being an awesome beta and Mari for putting up with my bullshit -again. (You can find links to their AO3 profiles in the first chapter notes -seriously check their work out)
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented, bookmarked and left kudos!! If you haven’t what are you waiting for? Reviews are more than welcome! Tell me if you liked it, if you hated it, anything really is great.
> 
> See you guys soon! And if you wanna reach out, here’s my [tumblr](http://happy-little-ghost.tumblr.com/).


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